Trade facilitators and transporters using the N4 Maputo Corridor report this morning that a sense of calm is returning to the Kilometre Four (KM4) area on the Mozambican side of the border at Komatipoort.
Posts out early this morning on a WhatsApp channel indicated that it was safe to travel from Ressano Garcia to the Port of Maputo after the election protestors yesterday forced trucks to park across the road, blocking access to the border control area.
Truck drivers also had their keys seized, complicating efforts to resume road freight through the important route to the Matola terminal at the port.
One transporter said his Namibia-registered rig was stuck at KM4 while the spare set of keys was in Windhoek, about 2 400 kilometres away.
It has also been reported that the truck staging area at Pessene, just over halfway from Ressano to Maputo, is operational again.
Truck traffic flowing again on the N4 Corridor comes after protestors brought road freight to a standstill yesterday afternoon.
Bloomberg reported that protesters in Ressano had seized control of a number of trucks and used them to blockade the main highway to neighbouring South Africa, according to the Trans African Concessions (TAC), which operates the route.
“Public buses were also prevented from operating on the N4 highway and passengers were forced to get out and walk,” TAC said.
Tyres were set alight on the road near a toll plaza outside Maputo.
TAC urged people to avoid travelling over the border until calm had been restored.
“Mozambique has been gripped by turmoil since October 9 elections. The official results showed the ruling party extending its 49-year hold on power and its presidential candidate Daniel Chapo winning 71% of the votes cast. But independent candidate Venâncio Mondlane, who was placed second, dismissed the outcome as fraudulent and has called for protests to ensure the electorate’s will is respected,” Bloomberg said.
The Constitutional Council has instructed the electoral authorities to provide it with tally sheets from seven of the 11 voting constituencies for verification.
“The N4 highway links South Africa’s industrial heartland in the centre of the country to the Maputo port and is an important export route for chromite and ferro-chrome.”
